1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a security system to prevent theft or vandalism of cargo contained in a truck.
2. Description of Prior Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98
Security of cargoes transported by truck is of serious concern to the trucking industry. Trucks that are left unattended may be subjected to break-in resulting in theft of cargo and vandalism. In addition, truck doors may be inadvertently left open after a delivery or pick up resulting in loss of valuable cargo which falls from the truck in the course of transport and creates a safety hazard on streets and highways. If during the course of a delivery or pick up a cargo door is inadvertently left open, pilferage of valuable cargo may occur or the nature and content of the cargo may be disclosed to unauthorized individuals causing economic loss to the trucker and the trucker's customers.
When business documents are being transported for safe storage, recordation or destruction it is essential that there be no unauthorized disclosure of such documents whether due to inadvertent neglect, vandalism or theft. Such unauthorized disclosure may cause disastrous economic loss to businesses and individuals due to the disclosure of trade secrets, confidential business matters and personal information used for identity theft. Such unauthorized disclosure of documents in transport may also result in heavy economic losses to the transporter of the documents due to liability for such disclosures.
In the course of the work day during the loading, unloading and transport of cargo such as business documents from a truck, many occasions can occur that can lead to the inadvertent exposure and theft of the cargo. For example, a driver or other worker on the truck may leave the immediate vicinity of the truck in the normal course of business without realizing a cargo door is open. Another example is the case of a truck with multiple cargo doors at different points, such as at the side and rear of the truck, with more than one door inadvertently open at the same time thereby allowing exposure of cargo at one door while loading or unloading is done at the other door. In yet another example, a cargo door may be inadvertently left open while the driver starts the truck engine which can result in loss and exposure of cargo in transport and traffic accidents.
For the foregoing reasons there is a need for a truck security system that will alert a person working on a truck that a cargo door is open when that person has gotten too far from the truck to oversee the cargo.
There is also a need for a truck security system that will alert a person working on a truck that more than one cargo door is open.
There is also a need for a truck security system that a will alert a truck driver that a cargo door is open when the driver attempts to start the truck engine and will prevent the engine from starting until the cargo door is closed.